Sorting machine



June 26, 1923.

In V6I1 tor: Cf/lor/e 5 F 4706 ar 0 I1 Mk, I m4; Atty June 26, 1923' c.F. RICHARDSON SORTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 1. 1

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 yen tor: C/mr/es 1f F A, Atty Junze, 1923- C, F.RICHARDSON SORTING MACHINE 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 v w 3% Q E Atty June26, 1923.

c. F. RICHARDSON SORTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 1, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 May70/;

Char/25 A /f/ 6/70/2150 Patented June 26, 1923.

unirsn srarss PATENT OFFICE.

o'HAnLEs r. tsIoHARnsoN; or woonsocnn'r, nnonn IsLAnn; AssIGnoR'roIKARPELEs COMPAN or rnovrnnncn, nnonn ISLAND, A oonrona'rron or:sHoDE ISLAND.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, CHARLns F. Brennan soN, acitizen of the UnitedStates, residing at WVoonsoclret, in the county of Providence and Stateof Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSorting Machines, of which the following is i a specification. i I,

This invention relates to machines for sort- 1 ing granular-materialaccording to the size of the grainsand has particular reference todevicesof this type wherein the unassorted material is fed from a commonsource through a series of sorting stations at each of which grains of agivensize are retained, the progress of the material being such that as,the latter passesithrough the machinethe chargesfrom stationtostationbecome progressively smaller in size as to grains. The cl1arges retainedat the several stations may be collected .inseparate containers andremoved from the machine.

The presentinvention is designed more particularly for assorting suchcommodities as artificial pearls, nuts or fruits forexample; and theapparatus embodies certain novel features of construction andarrangement of parts adapted to carryout the M0 a. essary sequence ofoperations to produce the desired result w i l p y In machines of thisgeneral type as now constructed, i't is usually necessaryto makesubstantial alterationsin the various parts of the machine if it isdesired to change one set of sorting or sizing members for another sethaving different sized sorting openings. By my invention I provideasimple and efficient mechanismto accomplishthis purpose withoutchanging any of the operative parts of the machine and I can by. a verysimple-operation, adapt the machine to separate practically any numberofthe various sizes of material, andone object of the invention is toprovide means. whereby this purpose is attained. i

A further object of my invention is to provide a feeding mechanismadapted to deliver charges from a general hopper at predeterminedintervals according to thepositions of the sorting stations into whichthe charge is conducted. l An illustra jive embodiment of the inventionincorporated in a machine specially designed to sort batches ofartificial pearls is nism sonrlne MACHINE.

Applicationfiled October 1,1921; Serial No. 504,679.

shown in the accompanying drawings, in which i Fig. 1 is afrontyelev'ational view of a machine embodying the invention, partsbeing broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the upper'or receiving portion of themachine, certain parts appearing partlyin section and others inelevation; I y

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the lower or driveportion of the machine,parts being broken away to clearly show internal mecha- Fig. 4 is a sideelevational view looking in the direction of the arrow 4 of Fig. 2,showing the automatically controlled clutch mechanism forcontrollingtheoperation of the .conveyor;

Fig. 5 is a perspective, view of sup porting, tilting and drivingmechanism for a screen or trommel;

Fig. 6' is a perspective View of one of the receiving receptaclesshowingth'e pro ecting chute and cam surfaces for opening a trap doorcarried by the trommel for the purpose of releasing the contents duringthe tilting operation; i

Fig. 7 is a substantially transverse sec- .tion'al view through one ofthe sorting units illustrating the means used to release any body whichmay have become engaged in the perforations in the screens. p

Referring to the drawings, 10 denotesthe machine framecomprising a pairof vertical side walls 11 secured at their lower ends to a base orplatform 12 and spaced apart at their upper ends and secured, to theopposite edges of an overhead piece 13." The thereon, the operatingmechanism of the device. -Theplatform 12 supports a motor 15 having itsdrive shaft 16 provided with a rear of the frame 10 is formed by a wallor plate 14 which supports, at various polnts worm 17 This motor 15 ispreferably located in the lower left hand corner of the frame10, asshown in Figures 1 and 3, and

is secured thereto by suitable brackets 18. Power is transmitted fromthe worm 17 to a worm wheel 19, meshing with the screw and mounted onone end of a' counter shaft 20 adapted'to rotate in suitable bearings 21secured to the back wall 14. With this construction the speed of thecounter shaft 20 is substantially decreased relatively to the speed ofthe motor shaft 16. A bevel gear 22 is carried by the opposite end ofthe counter shaft and is in mesh with a similar bevel gear 23 mounted onone end of a drive shaft 24 which is supported in bearings 25 secured tothe back wall 14 and which extends substantially parallel to the wallitself. As the shaft 24 revolves the sorting, tilting and feedingmechanisms are caused to operate in a mannerhereafter described.

The sizing or sorting mechanism, which will now be described, is shownin detail in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5. Mounted on the drive shaft 24intermediate its ends is a bevel gear 26 in mesh with a similar bevelgear 27 carried by a counter shaft 28 which in turn carries a sprocketwheel 29 and which is loosely supported in a bearing provided in theback wall 14. Passing over the sprocket wheel 29 is a continuous chain30 which travels in the direction indicated by the arrows at in Figures1, 2 and 3. Extending upwardly from the sprocket wheel 29, the chain 30engages alternate sides of a series of sprocket wheels 31 arranged oneabove the other and in parallel vertical alignment with theupright sidewalls 11. These sprockets are equidistantly s aced apart and aremountedon stud sha' ts 32 bearing in suitable openings provided in the backwall 14. The chain 30 extends from next to the uppermost sprocket wheel31- towards the left side of the frame 10 closely adjacent the side wall11 and engages about a sprocket wheel 33 which drives the feedingmechanism. The chain 30 then extends to the uppermost sprocket wheel 31and passes to an idler sprocket wheel 34 loosely mounted on a stud shaftfixed in the back wall 14. This idler sprocket wheel 34, whichconstitutes the uppermost support for the chain, is directly above andin line with the sprocket wheel 29 so that the chain 30 extends in avertical plane from the one sprocket to the other.

As shown in Figure 5, each stud shaft 32 pro ects substantially beyondits sprocket wheel and carries intermediately thereof a rocking sleeve35 having a'laterally proectlngarm 36 adapted to support one end of atrommel or substantially cylindrical of the right hand series screen A,the other end of which is removably secured to the flanged end portionof a evel gear .37 meshing with a similar bevel gearo38 carried on'theouter end of the stud shaft 32' beyond the sleeve 35. It will be notedthat all ofthe sorting devices are constructed and mountedin exactly thesame way, except that the cylinders, of which there are two series,oneqat the right hand slde and the other at the left hand side of theframe10,are arranged so that the members are ona substant ally higherhorizontal plane than the corresponding members of the left hand series.This staggered relation of a the cylinders causes the materialtobesorted to travel by gravity from the uppermost members to thelowermost members in a zigzag line. It will also be noted that theperforations or mesh in the. revolving cylinders A will be largest inthe uppermost member and gradually diminish in size in each successivecylinder so that the smallest openings will be in the lowermost. member.

Referring again to Figure 5 the projecting arm 36 comprises asubstantially straight rigid bar carrying, at a point adjacent thesleeve 35, a bracket 39 to support the bevel gear 37 in abearing collar40 through which the flanged port-ion 41 of the gear itself projects.The flanged portion 41 consists of an annular inner portion 42, the faceof which is secured to the rear face of the bevel gear 37 bymachinescrews projecting through the gear proper and received in threadedopenings in the'ring 42, and an integral marginal flange 43 projectingoutwardly from the periphery of the ring 42. This flange 43 issubstantlally a narrow gauge web designed to provide a shoulder, at theside thereof opposite to the ring portion 42, and against which the endof the cylinder screen A may rest, as shown in the sectional view of oneof these cylinders in Figure 2; the annular portion 44 which projectsbeyond the flange 43, and which is substantially of the same size as thediameter of the inner periphery of the cylinder screen A, is used as acentering device for one end of the cylinder A. In

order to compel the cylinder screen A to revolve with the bevel gear 37and flanged portion 41 I provide the shoulder of'the web 43 with .a pairof diametrically opposite pins 45 projecting outwardly over the surfaceof the centeringring 44. These pins 45 register with correspondinglylocated openings 46 in. the end of the cylinder A. Extending axiallythrough the bevel gear 37 and flange 41 is a receiving or intake opening47 having its inner annular wall flared outwardly from a pointmidwayofthe width of the flanged portion 41 to the face of the annularcent-ering ring 44.

The mechanism just described is thesupporting and operating means forthe cylinder' screens A at one'end thereof the opposite end being cappedby a cup shaped member 48 having a pair of discharge openings 49 and acentrally disposed conical bearing 50 adapted to receive an adjustablecone bearing pin 51 carried adjacent the outer end of a pivoted arm 52.This arm 52 is substantially L-shaped, the longer branch carrying aU-piece 53 having one of its edges held parallel to the axis of thecylinder screen A and the other edge projecting at substantially rightangles to the first named edge. A pivot screw 54 extends "the receivingend of the latter. The cam this cam revolves towards the right theroller 77 is shown as descending the left side ofthe cam. Thisarrangement calls for a slight advance in thesetting of each succeedingcam starting from theuppermost and then alternately from right to leftand left to right across the frame 10- so that by the time the lowermostcylinder A hasbeen tilted rearwardly to discharge its contents theuppermost'cylin'der will have returned to its initial or receivingposition.

The feeding mechanism, shown in Figure 2, comprises a hopper 80 mountedadjacent the left hand edge of the machine and resting over a suitableopening in the over head piece 13. The'mouth of the hopper is arestrictedJopeningSl at the lower end of an inclined portion of thehopper itself and is provided with an undercut portion 82 adapt-- ed toreceivetheintake end of a conveyor casing 89, The conveyor comprises acast head 84 provided with the intake tubular portion, referred toabove, which is substantially upright and leads to an opening; 85adjacent the bottom of the casting and at right angles to the axis ofthe upright portion. The portion ofthe wall which is opposite theopening 85 is provided with a bearing opening" 86 to support one, end ofa shaft 87, the opposite end of which carries a screw conveyor 88.Secured at one'endto the casting 83 and projecting axially of the shaft87 is a cylindrical casing 89 enclosing 4 the screw conveyor 88,theother end of said casingbeing provided with a cap 90 having a bearingopenlng therein to receive the end ofthe shaft 87 beyond the screwconveyor, Pivoted to opposite sides of this cap 90' and projectingoutwardly therefrom'is a chute 91 leading from a discharge opening 93 inthe end of the cap. The forward end of the chute is yieldably supportedin the forked :piece 64 of the uppermost cylinder screen A.

The casting 84 is provided with an integral bracket 9 1. shown in Figure4:, which The hollow shaft 99 extends rearwardly of the machine and isprovided with-a key 100 in its outer periphery and adjacent the endthereof to receive a keyway 101 of the movable member of a toothedclutch 102 adapted to slide axially of the hollow shaft 99.Looselymounted in the bore of this hollow shaft 99 and projecting to apoint closely adjacent the back wall 14 is a constantly rotating shaft103 supported at a point short of the rear end thereof in a bearing 10 1carried'by the back wall 1 1.- Pinned to theshaft 103 adjacent therearward end of the hollow shaft 99 is the second member of the clutch102. Power is applied to the shaft 103 through a spur gear 105 pinned tothe rearward end of shaft itself beyond the bearing 104, and meshingwith a sub-"' stantially larger spur gear 106 carried by shaft 107 onthe opposite end of which is keyed the sprocket wheel 33. I l

The mechanism just described provides a means for constantly rotatingthe shaft 103- and one member of the clutch 102, and in order tosynchronize the tilting operation of the uppermost cylinder A with therotation of the screw conveyor 88 the members of the clutch 102 mustbefbrought into engagement carried by a portion of the bracket 94:. The

other arm of the lever 110 pivotally supports one end of a link 112 theopposite end of which projects downwardly below the plane of therockerarm 36 andis pivoted toone end of a straight lever 113 the latterbeing pivoted midway ofits length to the back wall 14. The opposite endof the lever 113- is normally pulled downwardly by a spring 113 andcarries a cam roller 114 adapted to rest on a rotary cam 115, which ismounted on the stud shaft 74 andwhich, as shown inFigure 5, forms anintegral part ofsthe uppermost cam 76 or the left" hand series. This cam'115is virtually a 1 seggn'ient of a perfect round disk and is pro videdwith. a quick rise and fall to and from the. high portion of the cam.InfFigure 2, the relative positions of the cams 76 and .115 are shown,whereby the rise to the cam 115 effecting; the operation of the clutch102 to throw the latter into engagement is operating substantiallysimultaneously with the continued raising moven'ient of the roller 77after the latter has been lifted over the first rise in the cam 76 ofthe uppermost right hand cylinder screen Aito return the latter to thereceiving position] The length of the operatingcam surface of the cam115 corresponds to the length of the second rise 76 of the cam 7 6.

The receiving stations at the'discharge ends of the cylinder screens Aare best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 6, and consist of rectangular boxes116 supported in suitablebox'like brackets 117 secured to the inner faceof the side walls 11. Each of these receptacles 116 is provided with acut out portion 118 extending from the upper open edge of the front wallto a point about one half the height of the latter and midway the lengthof the wall. Projecting outwardly from the edges of the cut out portion118 and inclined upwardly is a chute 119 the upper free end of which isflared outwardly to a width substantiallyequalfto the diameter of thecylinder screen A from which the sorted charge escapes and falls uponthe chute. Whn in operativeposition the lip of the trap door 58 isdirectly over the ycentral portion of the of any suitable material suchas wire mesh or perforated metal plates infthe form of tubes, thelatterbeing of any length and 25 diameter consistent 'with the type ofmaterial to be sorted, but "forillustrative purposes I have shown aseries of perforated shells 121 of substantially identical constructionexcept that the perforations in the uppermost shell are thelargest and'graduategin size in each succeedingshell until the smallest openings arein thelowermost shell. v

In Figure 3, the-final receiving station or receptacle is, shown andcomprises a box 122 removably supported on suitable brackets 123 securedtothe'back wall 14:. 'Intothis receptacle all of the material too smallto be retained in the lowermostcylinder is collected. As, hereinafterexplained this unsorted-material maybe sized in another set of cylindershai 'ing'still smaller openings than those of the machinethrough whichthe material passed.

To prevent pieces ofthe material being sorted from remaining wedgedbetween the edges ofthe perforations of the cylindrical casing 121 Iprovide a wiper'12-1, shownin Figure'i, which consists of a slightlyflexible piece of material of a length equal to that of the cylinderitself and which is adapted tobe rigidl held along one of its edges bytwo clamping members 125 carried on. the inner-edge ofthe rocking arm86. The opposite edge of this member 124 projects out 55 i wardly towardthe peripheryof the cylinder where it contacts with and follows-thecontour of the latter. lVith this construction it will be seenthatshould a particle of the material be of a size which will veryclosely fit the diameter of the perforations and become wedged thereinthewvipei" 124 will push the particle backwards into cylindrical shell121.

The following is a sequence of steps which constitute .onecycle' of'theoperation of the machine... Assuming the; hopper :80 .to have beenfilled with thematerial to be sorted,

pearls for example; the cylinder screens A in their respective positionsaccording to the cams 76, shown in Figure 1, andthe superposed receivingreceptacles 116in proper po sitions, and assuming further that the poweris turned on, the driving shaft24 will rotate causing the chains 30, and71 to travel the directions of the arrows a and bjto .im-

part a continuous rotary and an intermittent oscillatory movement toeach cylinder and to feed predetermined quantities of such ma; terialfrom the hopper at certain inter vals and into the interior of theuppermost cylinder screen'for separation. v

The operation of the feeding mechanism is'as follows z Takingtheposition of the cam 1 15 shown in 'Figure 2, which isr o tated inclockwise direction, the drop in the cam 115 is vlowering the roller 114of the arm 113 under the tensionof the. spring 113 The link 112 ismoving upwardly rocking the bell crank 109 and releasing ,the clutch.members from engagement with eaclrother. The roller 11 i:havng.reachedthe low portion of the cam 115. will have completely re baseof the hopper to the discharge opening 93 in the endof the .conveyorcasing .89,

leased the clutch 102 and the conveyor. screw From the discharge opening93 the material n falls upon theinclined chute 91 and descends into theinterior ofthecylinder shell 121... It will :be understood that thecylinderfA of. each series are constantly rotating so that immediatelyacharge of materialis received theseparating operation is effectedandthe' particlesmaller than the perforations, in the I cylinder inwhich they, are conducted fall to the underlying chute .62and so onuntilthe very smallest particles are collected inlt he ilowermostreceptacle.

Subsequently to the releasing movement the clutch members 102 by the cam1 15 the rotary movement of the cam operating the uppermost right handcylinder has brought the fallin the last. named cam'just in advance ofthe roller 7? so that as the -1 cam 76 continuesfurther rotation theroller and the'rocker arm 86'will havemoved arcuatelyand in a downwardlydirection about the stud shaft 32 to discharge the separated material inthecylinder; As tliedischarg e end of thecylinder approaches its extremelowermost position the lip60 onthe trap door 58 contacts with the camsurfaces and tends to swing the former outwardly away fromthe openings49. In this tilted position all of theretained material within thecylinder A escapes throng-l the discharge opening 19 onto the chute-119vandinto the receptacle or 1303 116. This operation takes place in eachof the staggered sorting stations of. the machine and at subsequent pei"cording to size, the combination with a feedriods, because as theremaining portion of a charge travels from one station to the next lowerstation several rotations of each c linder are necessary to properlyseparate tie smaller sizes from the size unable to escape. through theperforations. And in order to follow up with a subsequent chargesimultaneously with the discharge of the preceding charge from thelowermost cylinder the cams 76 are adjusted so that each lags slightlybehind the preceding one; or in other words, the rise in the uppermostcam 76 of the one series moves against the roller 77 slightly in advanceof the uppermost cam 76 of the other series and so on down from side toside until the fall in the lowermost cam is about to discharge thecontents of its cylinder while the rise in the cam of the uppermostcylinder islifting the latter to its initial position toreceive a newcharge.

In order to explain the operation necessary to make a rapid change ofone set of cylinders for another set having driferent .s1zeperforations, particular attention is called to Figure 5. The operationsnecessary are as follOws-z-In removing a cylinder screen A the L-shap'edarm 52 is swung about its pivot screw 54 until the fiat side of the U.piece 53 extending substantially parallel to the long arm of the member52 is parallel with the spring 55. The arm 52 will then remain in thisposition until the cylinder has been moved axially and away from theflange 44 and pins 45 of the bevel gear 37. A new cylinder is thensubstituted forthe other by inserting its open end over the flange 44and bringing the openings 46 into register with the pins 45 and thenseating the end of the cylindrical casing 121 against the web orshoulder 43. The arm 52 is then returned to its initial position and thepin 51 centered in the bearing 50 of the discharge end or cap 48 of thecaslng 121.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Pat rality of cylindrical sorting stations, means for'operatingsaid stations, and oscillating means for collecting unsorted materialfrom the stations and delivering same for subsequent separation tosucceeding stations.

, 2. In a machine for sorting material according to' size, thecombination of a plurality of cylindrical sorting stations, saidstationsbeing disposed one above the other and at opposite sides of themachine, means ,for operating said stat ons, and oscillating means forcollecting the unsorted material from the stations'and delivering samefor subsequent separation to the succeeding lower stations at theopposite sides of the machine.

3. Ina machine for sorting material acing mechanism, of'a plurality, ofcylindrical sorting stations, said stations being disposed one above theother at alternate sides of the machine, means for operating saidfeeding mechanism and said stations, and oscillating means forcollecting unsorted material from v the stations and delivering same tothe suc ceeding stations at the opposite sides of the machine.

4. In a machine for sorting material according to size, the combinationwith a feeding mechanism for feeding charges of said material to. beseparated, of a plurality of sorting stations comprising cylindricalscreening devices arranged in series at opposite sides of the machine,the screening devices of one series being disposed at a different planefrom the corresponding screening devices of the other series, means forcontinuously rotating and intermittently oscillating saidscreeningdevices and operating said feeding mechanism, and .oscillat ing meansfor collecting the unsorted mate; rial for subsequent separation fromeach,

screening deviceand delivering same to the interior of the succeedinglower screening device of the opposite series.

5. In a machine for sorting material ac,- cording to size, thecombination with a feeding mechanism for feeding charges of saidmaterial, of a plurality of cylindrical revolving and intermittentlyoscillating sorting stations for receiving said charges for subsequentseparation, means for operating said stations, oscillating. means forconveying the remaining portion of said charge from one station toanother station, and means for receiving the retained portion of saidcharge at each station. 1 j

6. In a machine for sorting material according to size, the'con'ibination of a plurality of sorting stations comprising cylindricalscreening members provided with inlet and outlet openings at oppositeends thereof, pivotal supporting members for said screening members,means for continuously rotating said screens, and'means for operatingsaid supporting members to in cline the axis of saidscreening membersfirst in an upwardly direction toward the outlet ends and then in adownwardly direction toward the same ends.

7. In a machine for sorting material according to size, the combinationof a plurality of sorting stations comprising perforated cylindricalmembers, a supporting. apparatus for each cylindrical member, includingmeans whereby a portion of said apparatus may be adjusted to remove saidcylindrical member, and means for imparting continuous rotary movementto said cylindrical members and intermittent oscillatory movement-tosaid supporting apparatus.

8. In a machinfeot the character described,

the combination of a plurality of sorting stations, eachwof saidstations being provided With a perforated cylinder having inlet andoutlet openings at opposite ends thereof, a pivoted supportingarinadapted to support opposite ends of said cylinder, a

cam for oscillating the :free end of said armh relative to its pivot,and means for contin uously rotating said cyl nderand said cam;

9.-In a machine of the character 1de-,

scribed, the combination of a plurality oi sorting stations arranged inseries at oppositel sides of the machine, the members cot one seriesbeing located one plane above the plane of the-members of the otherseries, a plurality o'f supporting members for said sortingstationsincludingipivoted arms pro vided with fixed bearings at one endand adjustable bearings at the opposite end thereof, operatingmeansflincluding continue ously rotating adjustable camsv adapted'to move saidsupporting arms arcuately about their.;pivots, means reniovably mountedin the bearings of said, arms for receiving retaining and separatingithematerial to be] sorted, and operating means actuated by the 'arcuatemovement of said supporting arms whereby the retained contents ofSftl'll means carried by said arms 'mayibe d1s-:

charged adjacent sorting stations. I

10. an a machine of the character described, 'thecombination 'ot aplurality of sorting stations having continuously rotating perforatedcylinders, pivoted support ing means for each cylinder including a fixedbearing adjacent the pivoted end thereof, an adjustable arm at theopposite, endof saidsupporting means and having a bearing portionadjacent its 1 free end, a spring actuated member carried'by saidadjustable arm and adapted to enclose one end of said "cylinder; "areceptacle for each cylinder, and means carried :by said. receptacle foroperating said' enclosing member substantially simultaneously with themove ment of said pivotedsupporting means in one direction and torelease the contents of said cylinder to escape into the receptacle.

11. In a machine ofthe character described, the combination ofa'plurality ol pivotally supported :sorting stationscomprisingcylindrical screensarranged in se ries at opposite sides ofthe inachineathe stations of onc series being disposed above thecorresponding stations of the other series, a series of driving meansmounted axiall-y ojf the pivotal supports ot s'aid sort} ng stations,means for rotating alternate members of said driving series in oppositedirections, and means carried by said sorting stations adapted to engagesaid driving means whereby the former may be rotated at any inclinationand 1n the same direction.

12. In a machineof the character described, the combination ofoppositely disposed staggered continuouslyrotating and intermittentlyoscillating perforated cylin 13. In a machine'ot the characterdescribed, the combinationof oppositely disposed staggered continuouslyrotating and intermittently oscillating perforated c'ylin dricalsieves,said sieves being arranged in two series so that alternate sievesare super-' posedone above theother, operating means for said sievesincluding vertically super-- posed bevel gears mounted intermediatesaid' opposed cylindrical. sieves, and means for rotating said bevelgears in opposite direce tions whereby the rotation of each of saidsieves will be in thesame direction.

, 14L In a machine of the character def scribed, the combination ofsorting stations 1 disposed in parallel vertical series at oppositesides of the machine, one station mounted abovethe' other in" staggeredrelation} operating means forsaid stations including continuouslyrotating bevel gears, one dimesh with said first named bevel gearsj15.In a machine of the character de-' scribed, the combination with aplurality of staggered sorting stations arranged one lrectly abovetheother, and complemental bevel gears at said stations and adapted toabove the other at opposite sides of the mae,

chine, of intermittently oscillating and;

cal sieves carried by each station and pro- VlClGClWltll graduatedperiorationsin succeeding cylinders, whereby successive separation ofvarious sizes of material may 'be effected," i i 16. In a f'niachine oithe character de continuously revolving;perforated :cyl-indriscribed,thecombination ofa series of sorting stations alternate members of saidstations being disposed in opposite directions and toward opposite sidesoi? the machinev feeding mechanism for feeding charges of material toone end of said series of sort 1 'ing stations, and oscillatin uidingmeans I u, I h (I n mounted in said machine whereby said charge of materalniay be guided after-successive separations from below one sortingstatioii to the interior of the succeeding lower station of the .series.i

'17. Ina sorting machine, a plurality of staggered sorting stationscomprising oscillating and rotating cylindrical screens, a

series of adjustable cams for operating said stations, an intermittentlyoperated feeding, mechanism for feeding subsequent charges'of materialto be sorted to said sorting stations, means for operating said feedingmechanism, and operating means cooperating with said cams toautomatically engage and disengage said first named means.

18. In a sorting machine, a plurality of.

from said hopper to the uppermost sorting station, a screw conveyormounted in said assa e and. ada ated tomove material from said'hoppertoward the uppermost sorting station, adjustable means for tilting saidstations, and clutch mechanism effecting the operation of said conveyorscrew at certain inclinations of said sorting stations.

20. In asorting machine, a plurality of alternately opposed perforatedcylinders arranged one above the "other, supporting frames pivotallysupported in vertical alignment one above. the other and intermediatethe opposing cylinders, rotary driving means,

mounted axially of the pivots of said supporting members, and adapted tooperate said cylinders, cams for raising and lowering the free ends ofsaid frames, and receptacles adjacent the free ends of said frames forreceiving the contents of said cylinders when the latter are inclinedtoward the receptacles by. the operation of said cams.

21. In a machine for sortingv material ac cording to size, thecombination with a plurality of cylindrical sieves, of supporting meansfor said sieves including pivoted arms, the outer end of each arm beingprovided with anarcuately adjustable bearing having a square pivoted endportion, and a spring 'securedatone end to sa1d arm and extendingtowards said pivoted bearing to yieldably engage the square surface ofthe pivotedend portion whereby the bearing may be held in open or closedposition."

22. In a machine for sorting material according to size, the combinationwith a plurality of sorting stations, of mechanisms for continuouslyrotating and intermittently tilting said stations, and driving means forsimultaneously and continuously operating said rotating and tiltingmechanism whereby alternate members of each mechanism may be rotated inopposite directions.

23. In a sorting device of the character described, the combination of'an upright frame having parallel side walls and back wall, sortingstations mounted 1n zig-zag forma tion on said back wall, means fortilting said stations toward and away from, each other, a chutevpivotally supported below each sorting station and extending axially ofthe latter into the interior of the succeeding lower station, means forimparting relative arcuate movement to said chute during the tiltingmovement of said station, and a shield carried by said station closelyadjacent the pivoted end' of said chute, whereby the space between thelatter and said station may be closed during relative movement ofthe-two members.

24:. In a sorting device of the character described, the combination ofa series of troughs for delivering unsorted material from one side ofthe device to the other side thereof, said troughs being located'oneabove the other and extending in oppositedirections, pivoted supportsfor said troughs, {and means movable relatively to said troughs wherebyone end of the latter may be enclosed.

25. In a sorting device of the character described, the combination of aseries of sorting stations comprising cylinders provided withperforations therein, meansfor tilting said cylinders to discharge theircontents, and receptacles removably supported in said device and locatedat the rear of said cylinders, said receptacles comprising a box havingan inclined receiving lip extending beneath the end of said cylinder andadapted to be enga edbyi the downward movement of said cylinder duringtilting movement of the latter, whereby thecontents of said cylinder maybe released to, fall onto said lip.

26. In a sorting device of the character described, the combination witha plurality of constantly rotating cylindrical sieves adaptedtosuccessively separate various sizes of material, of pivoted supportingappa ratus for said cylinders, and resilient means carried by saidapparatus and extending lon itudinally of said cylinders, conforming totile are of sa1d sieves and in engagement with the outer peripherythereof, wherebymaterial caught in the mesh of said sieves may bereturned to the interior of said cyllnders.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES RIC ARDSON.

